Sunday, March 27, 2011

Tip#442: Discover Different Cultures through Movies - West is West

I've been seeing a lot of new release films recently that have been very inspiring. The latest is one of those movies that instantly transport me to another country where I can experience the rich sights and sounds of something new. It was through a sneak preview screening I discovered the movie West is West and so I shared the theatre with many friends from the South Asian community of Toronto.

West is West 2011

The movie West is West is a sequel to the highly acclaimed 1999 film East is East. Set in 1975 the story is about a Pakistan father George Khan (Om Puri), married to a British woman (Linda Bassett) in England, who brings his defiant 15 year old son, Sajid (Aqib Khan) to Pakistan to learn about his heritage.

Sajid's rebellious attitude in being taken to Pakistan generates much humour in the film. Despite the heat he refuses to remove his school uniform and must deal with having no flush toilets. What is also striking about the film is the balance between the comedy and drama. The father must deal with emotional repercussions from the earlier marriage he abandoned in order to remarry and live in England.

The movie was also a wonderful journey in learning more about the culture and rituals of this South Asian country. The wedding scene was vibrantly colourful and full of life! And there were fun realizations that English-raised teens like Sajid mostly knew the swear words of his native language. I could relate as I am a Canadian raised Filipino and I mostly know the swear words of my language! I'm not going to print any here because my Mom reads my blog!

What movies have introduced you to other cultures?

Many movies feature exciting cultures and countries for you to experience like the UK, South Asia, Italy, France, China and South America. What movies have you enjoyed discovering? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below OR click on the blog title above and scroll to bottom.

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

A movie that made a big impression on me (and evidently the star as well : ) was City of Joy with Patrick Swayze. Just as his character, a disgraced American doctor doing "penance" in the slums of Calcutta, learned that what we take for granted as right/good vs. wrong/bad from our perspective is not necessarily the truth for people living in that culture. Swayze cited this film as life-changing for him. I can see why!

austin said...

Well, I thought Fudge 44 was a film that made you really think about how different cultures influence our own, even without us realising it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jac2-XMGd1w